A Stormy Day
by Lily Hanson
Summary: An alien attacks the city, leaving the Rangers caught in the middle of a nasty storm.
1. Troy's Dilemma

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - **__**Prom Night**__ - __**A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex – Emma's Night – Emma's Mother – Bait And Switch – After Death**_

No matter how many nights she spent at the Moran house, Mrs. Goodall could not get used to sleeping in the Moran's bed. Mrs. Goodall insisted she take the master bedroom because there was no way she would be sleeping in her bed anytime soon without her husband. Mrs. Goodall had a full king size bed to herself while Mrs. Moran slept on a mattress in the living room.

Gia and Emma were sharing Emma's bed while Serena, who was also staying a few nights with the Morans, was sleeping in Gia's room. There was enough space for everyone and everyone said they were comfortable, but Mrs. Goodall felt guilty. She tossed and turned all night, every night, wondering what more she could do to help her best friend and the girls.

Emma, especially. Though she was here to comfort Mrs. Moran, her best friend of over two decades, there was nothing more important to her than Emma. Unfortunately, Emma didn't want anything to do with her. A few words were exchanged from time to time, but nothing serious, nothing that would give Mrs. Goodall any type of clue as to how she could repair her relationship with Emma.

When morning came, she was the first one up. She made her way downstairs to get started on breakfast for the house. She was about to make bacon to go with the pancakes and eggs, but remembered her daughter was vegetarian and put the bacon back in the fridge. As she got started with the pancake batter, she heard someone walk into the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder and saw Serena.

"Good morning."

"Morning," Serena answered back. Mrs. Goodall looked over at her again and noticed Serena looked like she was dressed in her pyjamas, but she looked like she was ready to head out for the day.

"Where are you headed dressed like that?" she asked.

"This is my training uniform," Serena said. "It's comfortable."

"Training? For what?"

"Martial arts."

"You're a therapist and a martial artist?"

"I'm not really a therapist," Serena shook her head. "I work at Panorama High as a kind of counsellor. You know, it's amazing what kids have to say when you really listen to them."

"A kind of counsellor?"

"I don't have any degrees or anything," Serena shrugged her shoulders, "But I've got a lot of experience. It's got to mean something when I say I managed to open Gia up. She's one of my most rewarding kids."

"Rewarding?" Mrs. Goodall asked. "Don't get me wrong, I love Gia, I really do, but she's always been…"

"Do you know what's happened?" Serena frowned. Mrs. Goodall nodded her head.

"I've heard bits and pieces. It's terrible."

"Bits and pieces?" Serena asked. "No offense, Mrs. Goodall, but Emma and Gia are inseparable. You should know more about Gia's life than just bits and pieces."

"I…"

"I mean, the school only paid me to come to talk to Gia," Serena said, "And I still took some time to get to know Emma because of how important she was to Gia."

"I don't need the lecture," Mrs. Goodall muttered. She poured the pancake mix into a pan, "I know I'm a screw up."

"You screwed up," Serena shook her head. "You're not a screw up. No one is a screw up."

"What?"

"That's what I tell my kids," Serena shrugged her shoulders. "That's what I tell myself. You screwed up, Mrs. Goodall, you screwed up real bad, but you're not a bad person."

"You don't know me."

"I know you flew all the way back home from Oklahoma to help your friend. I know you tried to make amends with your daughter, recently. I know you're trying right now to show her you're a better person, and you're hurting because she won't see it."

"How do you…?"

"Like I said, I've gotten to know Emma. It would be nice if you did too."

"What if she doesn't want me to know her?"

"Can you blame her? You had seventeen years. Good luck, Mrs. Goodall, and when Gia wakes up, tell her to bring her training uniform and find me in the park."

"Aren't you staying for breakfast?"

"Sorry," Serena shook her head and placed her hand on her stomach, "I'm still trying to get rid of the baby weight. I'll pick up something on the way."

"Still trying to get rid of the baby weight?" Mrs. Goodall frowned once Serena was gone, "Show off."

-Megaforce-

At the Burrows household, the mood was a little more spirited. Ryan had woken her family up in the early hours, but was now rewarding all of them with a big, gummy smile. It was a sight that made her parents, her brother, and Rebecca very excited as they all did what they could to get her smiling. Rebecca, in particular, enjoyed the experience, and made every silly face she could.

"You're really good at this," Troy complimented his oldest sister. Rebecca shrugged her shoulders and leaned back into the couch. She was winded for leaning forward. Her stomach was so big and she was due any day, so reaching the point of exhaustion was not a difficult task.

"Probably those maternal instincts," Rebecca muttered. "Someone's got to tell the mother inside of me it's too early to come out."

"Or, she can stay," Mrs. Burrows suggested with a smirk, "Just for the day. Chris and I were thinking of getting away together for a little bit, seeing as he's got the day off."

"So you want us to babysit?" Rebecca asked with a look of hesitation all over her face, "Mrs. Burrows, you know I'd love to help out. After everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do, but…"

"I'll be here," Troy suggested. "I can do the heavy lifting, and Ryan's a good baby. She won't be to demanding."

"It would mean a lot," Mr. Burrows said and he looked right at Rebecca. Even with Troy's help, he knew it was asking a lot of the teen. Rebecca was miserable in her condition, and only moved around when she needed to. However, he and Mrs. Burrows hadn't gotten a lot of time together since Ryan's birth, and they were very much looking forward to a date without the baby.

"Alright," Rebecca gave in and looked over to Ryan. She rolled her eyes, "You better be good."

Ryan stuck her fist in her mouth.

"Thank you," Mrs. Burrows smiled. She hugged her son and then Rebecca, "I've already got lunch and dinner made, you'll just need to reheat them. Rebecca, all your vitamins are laid out on the counter by the fridge. Do not forget to take them."

"With any luck, I won't have to because this baby will come out."

"It could be a while still, sweetheart," Mrs. Burrows chuckled. "If it does happen today, though, my cell phone is on. I can be at the hospital in ten minutes. Troy…"

"I'll drive her and drop Ryan off with the neighbours," Troy promised. "Go, have fun. We've got everything under control here."

"We're trusting you kids," Mr. Burrows said as he picked up his car keys. "No wild parties."

"Chris," Mrs. Burrows slapped her husband gently on the chest and laughed. She knew Troy – he was not one to throw big parties that would tear up the house. In fact, she would encourage him to invite some of his friends over if he would be alone for the day. And Rebecca wouldn't want a party in her state. She and her husband had nothing to worry about. "C'mon, or we'll be late for the movie. I have my phone!"

"Goodbye, sweet pea," Mr. Burrows walked over to his daughter and took her in his arms. He gave her one last cuddle and a kiss goodbye before leaving the house with his wife.

Rebecca fell on her side on the couch, "When is nap time?"

"She needs breakfast," Troy chuckled. He held Ryan and then passed her over to Rebecca, "Can you hold her while I warm up the milk?"

Rebecca nodded and reached her arms out. Just as she was about to take the baby she felt a pain in her stomach. She winced for a moment and stopped breathing until the pain passed. Troy looked to her worriedly.

"Rebecca?"

"It's fine," she shook her head. "That's been going on all night and nothing's happened."

"Are they contractions?"

"I…" Rebecca groaned painfully and it looked like another one had hit. It was a moment before it passed. "I'm okay, Troy."

"No you're not," Troy shook his head and he put Ryan in her carrier.

"Yeah, I…"

"My socks are wet," Troy told her. Rebecca looked down at her feet and saw a puddle of water had come down her legs and to the floor. She stood up and felt her pants. They were wet. Her eyes widened in terror as she looked to her brother. He nodded his head, "Yeah, it's happening. Go get cleaned up, I'll call mom…"

"But… but…"

"You're going to be fine, Rebecca, I'll be here with you the entire time," Troy reassured her. "Go upstairs, you have time for a quick shower, right?"

"Y-yeah… no? Troy, I don't… I don't know what to do!"

"At least get changed," Troy said. He grabbed Ryan's bag and put it over his shoulder while also getting the phone so he could call his mother. They had just left, so it likely wouldn't take them long to come back and help.

Rebecca nodded her head and slowly tried to make her way upstairs. Troy grabbed as much as he could, and everything he thought he would need for both his sisters.

"I'm going to drop Ryan off," he called upstairs to his sister. "I won't be long!"

He took the baby and hurried to the door. Just as he started to put on his shoes he heard a familiar beeping. He groaned as he turned to his bag.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said. He set Ryan down and pulled out his morpher, "Gosei, bad time…"

"There's an alien in the plaza. The other Rangers are on their way."

"I… I…" Troy looked up the stairs, then down at his sister, and then back at his morpher. He took his cell phone from his pocket and quickly tried to call his mother.

There was no answer.

He tried his father.

There was no ring.

He looked outside and saw a large, dark cloud rolling over the city. It didn't look like a normal storm cloud. In fact, the weatherman had been calling for clear skies all week. He spoke into his morpher, "Gosei…"

"The alien seems to be able to generate heavy rainfall, strong winds, and lightning," Tensou answered. "His storm is already covering half the city, and if you don't stop him soon, it's only going to spread. The team needs you, Troy."

He heard a piercing cry from his sister upstairs and looked up at her. He couldn't reach his parents, his friends and the city were in need, and Rebecca was about to have a baby.


	2. A Nasty Storm

Troy held his head in his hands as he sat by Rebecca's hospital bed. There was a monster attacking the city and he had the ability to create powerful storms that could wreak havoc on the city. There was no exaggeration there as the lightning lit up the already bright room and the thunder clapped loudly. Rebecca let out a scream and Troy worried she was going to have the baby right then and there. He jumped up, took her hand, rubbed circles on her back and whispered that everything would be okay.

He had chosen to take his sister to the hospital over helping his teammates. It hadn't been an easy decision, and he was worried greatly for his teammates who were trapped in the middle of the storm without his help, but there was no one around for Rebecca. Cell phones were down, the power was out all over the city, and he had no way of getting in touch with his parents. Rebecca was in labour and needed someone by her side. At least the Rangers still had three other teammates plus Robo-Knight they could count on.

"I don't want to have this baby," Rebecca shook her head. "He can't come out."

She took in a deep breath to try and calm herself and then started to panic almost immediately after, "Troy! His parents! They don't know!"

"They called the house yesterday while you were napping," Troy said. "Didn't mom tell you?"

"No…?"

"They're in a nearby hotel, just waiting for your word. As soon as I can, I'll call them…"

"What if they miss it?" Rebecca asked. "Troy, they were so excited to see him be born! I promised them they could be here."

"They'll be around for the rest of his life, Rebecca. It's okay. Just focus on breathing."

"Troy!" Rebecca screamed but a loud clap of thunder drowned her out. She clutched on to Troy's shirt tightly, pulling him in closer. Troy wrapped his arms around his sister and pulled out his cell phone once again."

"All phone lines are down," A nurse announced as she walked in. "Cell phones are still out too. It's a nasty storm out there."

"I'm not ready for this," Rebecca looked to the nurse desperately, as if there was something to do to keep the baby from being born. "I can't… his parents aren't… I can't do this."

"You're going to be great," the nurse promised her. "Your body knows what to do already, and you'll have a full team guiding you through the whole thing. You'll be fine. Just breathe, Miss Daniels. It's going to be over soon."

Rebecca looked up at Troy, pleading for his help but the red Ranger had no idea what he could do. He continued to hold his sister while he looked out the window. This was horrible timing.

-Megaforce-

Gia was thankful for her helmet. Not only did it keep the rain from soaking her to the bone, but it kept the water and blowing debris from her eyes as she looked around.

She wasn't supposed to be on the battle field. Her arm was still broken and she risked only hurting herself further if something happened. However, nothing would stop her from foiling Vrak's plans. Nothing would stop her from taking a shot at him if he made the mistake of showing his face. She wanted him to know that he couldn't keep her down. Her Ranger suit offered her arm extra protection and her team had her back. This was a risk she wanted to take, and the others knew they couldn't stop her.

Vrak's latest alien seemed to be able to control the weather, and had used his abilities to tamper with the beautiful day Harwood County was promised. He covered the city in a veil of dark, ominous clouds which caused a relentless downpour of rain. The streets were already beginning to flood. The wind was strong and it moved quickly. Several times already it had knocked the Rangers off their feet or had blown leaves, papers, cups, pebbles, mud, and even the occasional mailbox or car in their direction.

"Look out!" Gia called and dove to the side, pulling Jake with her. She only just managed to avoid being hit by the car in favour of splashing into a deep puddle. She pushed herself up and looked down at Jake, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you?" he asked her. Gia got to her feet and then help him up. She nodded her head and turned to where Emma and Noah had been standing. They had an advantage that she and Jake didn't possess. Emma had cards from Gosei that helped her control the wind and sky elements. She could redirect where the wind was blowing and fight the monster with his own tricks. Noah could use his cards, which gave him power over water, to shoot streams at the monster and blind him with rain. It was like trying to put out fire with more fire, but it was the best the Rangers could do so far.

Robo-Knight was helping out as well. Fortunately, the armour that covered him was completely waterproof and indestructible. The rain couldn't short circuit his technology or cause him to malfunction. However, he was just as blind as the other Rangers because of it and because of the wind. Fortunately, his vision came with heat sensors. He could tell when there was a warm body standing in front of him, it was just hard to tell if it was the monster or a Ranger. Unfortunately, this alien had a similar body type to humans.

It worked well enough, but Gia was still worried. Noah and Emma had also barely managed to avoid the car, but they were okay and they were back in action with Robo-Knight.

"Let's take this guy down!" Jake shouted as he wiped his visor clean and then hurried over to where there was a little light shining off Robo-Knight's armour and he could see traces of pink and blue from his teammates. Gia watched him go and then turned up to the sky.

"Bolt Blast!" she heard the alien say and saw lightning coming together at one point in the sky right over her teammates. She shook her head and called out.

"Fall back!"

"What?"

"Fall back!" she shouted again and waved for her friends to join her. "Hurry!"

She was too late for Robo-Knight, who was the first to be struck by the alien's attack. It seemed his armour couldn't protect him from the charge of the lightning. He seized for a moment before all his sensors shut down and he hit the ground like a dead man. Gia worried, but she was sure Tensou could repair him.

"NOW!" she called to her friends. They saw what happened to Robo-Knight and decided they wouldn't be next to suffer the monster's attack. They started running back to Gia while she pulled out a card from her belt. Once it was in the morpher and activated, rocks and mud appeared in the sky over her and her fleeing teammates. A bolt of lightning came down, but at soon as it hit the makeshift ground Gia had created it stopped. The floating island blew to pieces, but the lightning didn't hurt anyone.

"Why didn't I do that in the first place?" Gia muttered as she realized she had a shield against the alien's attack. Jake then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along with him as the Rangers retreated. Unfortunately, no matter how far they ran down the street, they couldn't escape the storm and they could hear the alien laughing.

Noah led the team to a shop that had been shut down at the beginning of the dreadful storm. The Rangers had to break in to get inside, but it offered them shelter from the rain and wind. They took off their helmets. Jake tried to flick on the lights.

"Power's out."

"Good job, Sherlock," Emma rolled her eyes. She looked out the window at the sky, "This looks really bad."

"He fried Robo-Knight," Noah said, "And Troy still hasn't come. We're down two Rangers."

"He's got to have a good reason," Emma said to the blue Ranger, but she looked worried. Troy would never miss a battle unless there was something more important holding him up. She didn't know what, and was worried he was in trouble.

Gia paced back and forth. She held her helmet under her arm and with the other she was on her phone, trying to reach her mother. However, there was no reception. She couldn't get her call through. She tried the house phone instead of her mother's cell but it was also dead. Gia bit her lip as worry covered her face.

"This storm is going to wipe out the city if it continues," Noah said. He stood before the window and looked out in awe and terror. "That alien won't have to really do anything."

"This storm is his doing," Jake said and rubbed his hands together, "And if it weren't for that lightning attack, we could have had him!"

"We'll get him next time," Emma said like it was a promise and then turned around to look at Gia, "Any idea where Troy is? Have you contacted Gosei?"

"Gosei?" Gia looked up from her cell phone with a little frown and then shook her head, "I didn't think of that."

"What are you doing?" Jake asked her, seeing she had her cell phone out. "Who are you calling?"

"Mom," Gia whispered. She put her cell phone away. "She's not answering."

"I'm sure she's fine," Emma walked over to Gia and wrapped her arms around her. "We're across town from home. She's probably just taking cover from the storm and worrying about us."

"I can't help it," Gia said. "I'm worried."

"Me too," Emma said, "But we can't get distracted. Any ideas on how we can destroy this alien?"

"Quickly," Gia muttered and then looked to her team, "Just give me a minute to think about out. I'll come up with something. You guys dry off and try to contact Troy."

"Morphers are dead," Noah shook his head. "This storm is messing with the signal. I've tried three times now, for Gosei and Troy. No luck."

"Keep trying," Gia told him.


	3. Worry

Troy considered this to be the worst night of his life. The storm outside had caused a city-wide blackout. The hospital had power through a generator, but the storm was so bad, the lights and machines were flicking constantly. Troy knew it was only a matter of time before they lost power too. He hoped his teammates could defeat the monster and stop the storm before anything too bad happened.

He wanted to be in the fighting helping them, but his sister had gone into labour and he couldn't leave her side. His parents had gone for the day and when he tried to call them, he couldn't reach them. Cell phone service was down and the landlines were down. There was no way of getting in contact with them. He was sure they would turn back and go home because of the storm, and he would see they weren't there, but there was no telling how long that would take. When he looked out the window, he had seen the streets were flooding. Travel wasn't safe. He was lucky he had gotten to the hospital when he had, or he would have found himself on the other end of the bed, helping Rebecca push out the baby.

Her hand crushed his as she let out a cry. This was not how either of them imagined the birth going. Troy would be in the waiting room, waiting for the good news, and his mother would be here with Rebecca, holding her hand. Mia and Kevin, the adoptive parents, would be here too to see the birth of their son. Unfortunately, once the birth started, there was no stopping it. Rebecca had been forced to endure it all with only her brother by her side.

"Talk to her," the doctor reminded Troy. He had so much on his mind that he had drifted off for a moment. He looked down at Rebecca and rubbed her arm gently, "You're doing great."

"I see the head," the doctor announced. Troy smiled at his little sister but she screamed. He couldn't imagine what she was going through, but imagined it had to hurt more than the pain of his hand being crushed in her grip. He couldn't imagine how the pain could be any worse, as he had to bit his tongue to suppress a cry of his own, but he was sure she was suffering the most.

-Megaforce-

In the abandoned shop, the Rangers had retreated from the alien attacking when he decided to strike them down with lightning. After they saw what his attack could do to Robo-Knight, they didn't want to wait around and risk getting shocked for themselves. The alien had already proven he knew how to fight with weather based attacks. Lightning was just too much.

Noah passed the time on his morpher, trying his best to get communication back with Gosei, Tensou, and Troy, who hadn't yet shown himself on the battle field. It wasn't like Troy to skip out on missions. In fact, it was completely out of character. Of all the Rangers, Troy was the most determined to protect humanity. He was always training, always trying to better himself as a Ranger, and always looking out for his teammates and civilians. It worried Noah to no end that he hadn't shown up.

Jake had found a ball lying around in the shop and was kicking it around to pass the time. He was also worried, but now that he had time to rest, he was ready to get out and fight. He knew that if he could get close enough to the alien, he could take him down. It was just a matter of figuring out how.

Gia wracked her brain for a plan – any kind of plan – but she was finding it hard to focus. She paced the room and looked down continuously at her cell phone. She hoped to get some service so she could call her mom and make sure she was okay. The alien's attack was on the other side of town from the house, but the storm had spread across the city, putting everyone in danger.

Emma sat by the window and watched the storm. She too wanted to put an end to the alien's mess, but she had no idea how. The lightning had proven itself to be very dangerous. It had completely fried Robo-Knight in a single strike. There was no telling what it would do to her and her friends. The Ranger suit could only offer so much protection.

"Look," Jake caught the ball in his hands and looked around, "We're not helping anyone in here. We're Rangers, we're supposed to take risks. I say we just go out there and do everything we can to take this creep down."

"Easy for you to say," Emma rolled his eyes. "You blend right in. The monster can't see you very well. Black Ranger against a black sky? Try being pink."

"Or blue," Noah added.

"Or yellow," Gia said.

"So then I'll go in," Jake said. "I'll be like a ninja. I'll sneak up on him, give him everything I've got…"

"No you won't," Gia shook her head and frowned at her boyfriend. "You're not going after him, especially if you're by yourself. If we take him down, we take him down as a team, and we do it with a plan in mind. One that's going to work. No one is getting electrocuted or run over by a car!"

"We've got to do something, though," Jake said. "We're heroes, we shouldn't be hiding. Being a Ranger is all about taking risks, doing the right thing, fighting the bad guy…"

"No one's going out there until we have a plan," Gia shook her head. She looked back down at her phone and sighed when she saw she had no cell phone reception.

-Megaforce-

Mrs. Goodall pressed her phone to her ear and begged to hear it ring, but instead received a message that there was no reception in her area. She put the phone down and looked to it sadly.

"Is Emma still not answering?" Mrs. Moran asked. She brought pillows and blanket down to the basement, worried this storm was going to last the night. Mrs. Goodall shook her head.

"I can't get through," she had been trying to contact Emma for hours now, worried for her daughter's safety. At the start of the storm, Emma and Gia had both left the house without explaining where they were going or what they were doing. The power was out due to the storm, the streets were flooded, and Mrs. Goodall couldn't check up on her daughter via phone. She had no idea where Emma was, what she was doing, or if she was okay.

"I'm sure she's fine," Mrs. Moran said though she didn't sound too convincing. Unlike Mrs. Goodall she knew about the Rangers. Gia and Emma had run because there was trouble, and they were likely doing all they could to put an end to whatever was attacking the city in this miserable weather. Unfortunately, knowing the girls were Rangers did nothing to put Mrs. Moran at ease as she worried constantly. She couldn't reach them, she couldn't watch the news, she had no idea what was happening. The last monsters to attack had kidnapped her daughter and her and killed her husband. It was no wonder she felt panicked about this new attack.

Mrs. Goodall looked over to her best friend. Mrs. Moran was trying to make the floor comfortable so they could wait out the storm, but there was an obvious look of fear and sadness on her face. Mrs. Goodall put down her cell phone and walked over to her best friend.

"I'm sorry. This has got to be ten times harder on you, but Gia's a smart girl. You know she'll have found somewhere safe to hide."

Mrs. Moran couldn't stop the tears coming down her face. She wished it was true. She wished Gia was hiding out somewhere and waiting out the storm with Emma. She wished she could believe her daughter was safe and dry at the Brainfreeze, or in the cabin at the mountains, or in the basement of a kind neighbour who would let them stay until the storm passed. She knew none of that was true. She knew her girls were out in the middle of the storm and she worried greatly for their safety.

She no longer had someone to talk to about it, though. Now that her husband was dead, she had lost the ability to share her worries about the girls being Rangers. She couldn't talk to Mrs. Goodall about how much danger the girls were in, why it was specifically that she was worried, or how much she hated that the girls needed to be outside in this weather. She had to pretend and lie. It left her feeling very alone.

"It's okay," Mrs. Goodall hugged her best friend comfortingly, "It's going to be okay. I'm sure the girls are safe."


	4. The Storm Passes

"I'm starting to think Jake's right," Noah said as he looked up from his morpher to his teammates. "It's been hours, that alien's still out there. The storm is only getting worse. We've got to do something."

"It's raining lightning," Emma commented and moved away from the window as a bolt came too close to comfort to the shop. "He's destroying everything."

"Gia, we can't stay inside," Jake walked over to his girlfriend and took her hands. "We've got to go back out there. We've got to fight. It's risky, but…"

"No…"

"We'll be safe, I promise," Jake said. "Nothing's going to happen. Well, something is if we don't stop that monster. What do you say?"

"No, Jake…"

"You made that wicked shield that helped us get away," Jake told her. "Can you do it again? Can you block out the lightning if I help you?"

"You know, it might be advantageous to us if you did," Noah said. "Take the fight kind of underground, where the lightning and the wind can't get to us. We'll even be safe from the rain."

Gia shook her head, "We use power cards that only hold so much power. The lightning blew up my floating island as soon as it hit! Even if we combined our powers, Jake, I…"

"We have to try, Gia," Jake told her. "Look, Robo-Knight's going to be fine, and we'll all be watching each other's backs. We might get a little shock, but we've got to try this. Even if you're scared."

"Vrak's last creation killed dad," Gia looked down at her cell phone, "I can't let anything else happen. Especially to you guys."

"Nothing will," Emma promised. She took a seat beside Gia and hugged her.

"You can't promise that."

"We have a better chance of getting out of this alive if we go out there now, then if we wait for him to find us," Emma reminded Gia. "In the meantime, he's going to wipe out the entire city. Everyone's in danger, Gia, not just us."

"We need to take this risk," Jake told her. "We have to protect the innocent."

"Like your mom," Emma whispered. "The longer we wait, the more danger she's in, and she can't do anything about it. We have to get out there, Gia."

Gia nodded her head and put her helmet back on. She took a power card out of her belt and showed it to Jake.

"I used this one," she told him. "If we're really focused, we might be able to create a dome over ourselves and the monster. It's going to mean a lot of power, especially if the lightning can destroy the dome."

"We'll keep you both covered," Jake promised Noah and Emma. "Don't worry about us. We'll block out the elements as best as we can. You two need to finish this guy off."

"We'll go back to the place Robo-Knight fell," Gia said. "His blaster's sure to take the monster down in a single shot. You have to aim well and you need to set his blaster at full power. Whoever takes the shot, the other needs to steer clear. Believe me; you don't want to be on the receiving end."

"We'll take him down," Noah promised and looked over at Emma with a smile. She put her helmet on her head. The boys followed.

-Megaforce-

Troy wasn't in battle like the Rangers, but he was having a rough day. After a lot of pain and screaming, Rebecca had given birth. The baby was healthy, and the hospital still had enough power to clean the little boy up, run some tests to verify his health, and then wrap him up and give him to the mother. It was a bittersweet moment for Rebecca and Troy. Both knew they weren't keeping the baby. As soon as they could get in contact with his adoptive parents, he would be taken from them forever. However, the siblings were thankful for this time with him. Rebecca, especially, seemed happy she got the chance to say goodbye.

She had fallen asleep with the baby in her arms. Troy looked over both of them while also keeping his eye on the storm. He hoped things were well with the Rangers.

-Megaforce-

A loud blast disrupted Noah from his thoughts and he looked up. The large dome of dirt, stones, mud, and plants shattered above him, sending earthy debris in all directions. Jake and Gia were working hard to block out the elements and keep the fight fair, but the monster was determined to break them down. Noah knew he had to fight quickly.

He managed to retrieve Robo-Knight's blaster, and had it set on its most powerful shot, but he couldn't fire it. The dome Jake and Gia created blocked out a lot of light, which only appeared to help him see when the monster's lightning destroyed it. Noah had a hard time telling where the monster was, or if he was pointing the blaster at him or one of his friends. He couldn't risk taking the shot if he thought it would put them in danger.

To make matters worse, while the dome was protecting him from the monster's lightening, wind, and rain, it also kept everything contained. If Noah were to shoot with everything he had, the blast would reach all of them, and destroy the dome and send more debris flying everywhere through the city. He knew this was a shot he was going to have to take, but he needed to wait a for the moment where there was the least risk for himself, his friends, and the city. It was the downside to having too much power. He could destroy a monster with a single shot, but also risked wiping out the whole city.

"Go, Noah!" Emma shouted at him as she dodged another one of the monster's attacks. She had a little advantage because the monster was too busy trying to use lightning to break the dome surrounding him that he wasn't focused on taking her out. "Jake and Gia don't look like they can keep this up for much longer!"

She swung at the monster with her Phoenix shot and struck him across the chest. He looked to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her in closer. He ripped her weapon from her hand. Now Noah really couldn't take the shot.

"Just do it!" Emma called to him. Noah lowered Robo-Knight's blaster and shook his head, but then pulled out his Shark Bowgun. It wasn't as powerful, but it would get the job done without hurting Emma or the others too badly. He didn't hesitate with it and took his shot. The monster was blasted back while Emma was knocked to the side. Now she was far enough away, and Noah was sure this time about where the monster was. He lifted Robo-Knight's blaster and took a shot. He saw light for a moment – fire, almost – and then everything went black.

-Megaforce-

Mrs. Goodall had held Mrs. Moran until she calmed down and then the two of them tried to take their mind off the storm and the girls. There were a lot of old games that had been stored away in the basement, and the two women occupied their time by revisiting the games they used to play before the girls were born.

Eventually, light started to come in through the small windows of the basement. Mrs. Goodall looked up and couldn't believe she was seeing the sun. She jumped up, almost taking out the pieces of the board game, and run to the window.

"Claire…?"

"The storm's passed, Vanessa!"

Mrs. Moran jumped up and ran to the stairs. She climbed them quickly, with Mrs. Goodall right behind her. When she reached the main floor of the house, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Seems they did a good job with the rebuild," Mrs. Goodall said. "Everything's dry and as we left it."

Mrs. Moran nodded her head but she wouldn't be happy until she knew the Rangers were safe. She walked to the door and opened it. Outside she saw the streets were flooded from all the rain. Trees had been knocked over, power lines were down, cars were turned over or gone from the driveways. It was a real mess.

"We were really lucky," Mrs. Goodall said. Mrs. Moran couldn't help but agree. She had been lucky, but she didn't feel lucky. She pulled out her old rain boots from the hall closet and walked out.

"We've got to find the girls," she said. Mrs. Goodall hurried out and grabbed her arm.

"They know how to get home. We have to trust they'll make it back. We need to be here when they do."

"Claire, I have a really bad feeling," Mrs. Moran shook her head. "Please, I know the girls. I know what to do when bad things like this happen to the city. You can stay here if you want, but I'm going to find my daughters."

It slipped out. The _s_ sound at the end of the word daughter just slipped right out of Mrs. Moran's mouth. Emma was her daughter, that was no mistake, but she had been careful about saying it in front of Mrs. Goodall. She knew it would upset her. Mrs. Goodall was trying to make up for being absent and careless, in spite of the fact that it was too little too late for Emma. It would hurt her to hear that Emma was now truly someone's else's daughter.

"Claire, I…"

"You're right," Mrs. Goodall shook her head. "You've always been there for her. I didn't even know my daughter was vegetarian. If you think this is what we need to do, then I'm coming with you."

Mrs. Goodall stepped out on the flooded porch and closed the door before she let too much water into the house, "Where do you think they would have gone?"

"Just… follow me and don't ask any questions," Mrs. Moan said and looked both ways down the street. Whichever way had the most damage would surely lead her to wherever the Rangers had been in battle with a monster.


	5. Flooded Streets

Troy looked out the window as the sun started to shine through. The clouds were moving away from the city and the rain had stopped. The streets were still a mess and when he looked down he saw it would take a lot of cleaning up before the city was clean, but the storm had passed. The alien had been defeated. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing his friends had won.

"The storm really had you worried, huh?" Rebecca asked tiredly. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. She looked down at her arms and saw her son was no longer there. A nurse must have taken him for another check-up now that the storm was over.

"Yeah," Troy nodded his head. "It looks like it was pretty bad."

"How bad?" Rebecca was too tired and too sore to get out of bed and see for herself, so Troy explained to her how the streets were flooded; cars were turned over or had been washed away. Many trees had been uprooted or snapped in half from lightning, roofs had been ripped off of homes, and some homes had a tree or a power line, or a car in them.

"I guess we got lucky," Rebecca said as she looked to her brother, "Could you imagine if that happened to the hospital?"

"Mom and dad are probably at the house," Troy said. "Hopefully nothing happened there."

"Do you have reception, yet?"

Troy shook his head, "No. I'll try the landline, though. Are you okay here by yourself?"

Rebecca nodded her head. Troy gave her a kiss on the forehead before he headed out into the hallway. He checked that the way was clear before he reached into his bag and pulled out his morpher.

"Hey, guys, sorry I couldn't make it. I ran into a little trouble at home," he paused for a minute to see if his friends would answer. There was none. Thinking they were just tired, he continued to give them time to catch their breath, "You won, though, so that's great. You'll have to get me caught up."

He waited again but there was no answer. He started to worry. It wasn't for long, though. He heard his name being called and looked up to see his parents running towards him in a panic. His mother threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Are you okay?" she asked once she pulled away. "We just barely made it home when the storm got real bad. The neighbours said you were here."

"Rebecca went into labour," Troy explained. He saw the panicked looks on his parents faces and had to reassure them everything was okay. "She's fine, and the baby's healthy. Mia and Kevin might be able to take him home as soon as they can get here."

"Once we reach them," his father said. "All the phones are down. No one's got service on their cells. This storm was real nasty."

"It's over now, though," Troy said. His father gave him a pat on the back and then walked into Rebecca's room to check up on her. Mrs. Burrows hugged Troy tightly again, very relieved to see the storm hadn't hurt him, and then followed her husband to check up on Rebecca. She knew how tiring birth could be and couldn't imagine suffering through it at such a young age, without help, in the middle of a storm.

Troy waited for them to be behind the door before he took out his morpher again and stared at it. His friends still hadn't answered him. He opened that, like the phones, communication was down, but he knew Gosei's technology far surpassed what humans could do. The monster was destroyed so he should have been able to reach his friends. He clutched his morpher tightly in his hand and went numb, worried he had let his teammates down more than he first imagined.

-Megaforce-

Mrs. Goodall looked around in horror as she followed her best friend down the street. The further they went, the more destruction had been done to the city in the storm. Mrs. Moran promised she would be able to find their girls and Mrs. Goodall had no authority to say she knew better, but as the chaos got worse, she hoped she was right. She hoped the girls were headed back home like she thought.

"Stay here," Vanessa suddenly held her hand out to stop her. There was a lot of rubble, mostly rocks, laying around, and the two women had encountered a wall the debris had made. Mrs. Goodall looked up at Mrs. Moran.

"Why?"

"I'm going to check this out first. I'll call if I need help."

"But…"

"We don't know what's on the other side," Mrs. Moran said. "It wouldn't be smart for us to both go over. Stay here, don't move."

Mrs. Moran's words bordered the truth. She didn't know what was on the other side; at least, she wasn't completely sure. Hopeful, if anything. However, she didn't want Mrs. Goodall to stay on this side of the wall in case she needed help. Mostly, she wanted Mrs. Goodall to stay on this side of the wall because she felt the Rangers were on the other side, and she didn't want Mrs. Goodall to find out who they were. When she saw her best friend nodding, giving her word that she would wait, she started to climb the wall and jumped over.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Goodall called once Mrs. Moran was gone.

"Fine, but there's a lot of water and more debris," Mrs. Moran called back, "Just stay there while I have a look around."

Mrs. Moran lifted her legs high as she walked through the water. It wasn't a fun adventure. Cleaning up after a battle was never a fun adventure. Since the monsters had started attacking the city had to pay millions for repair and Mrs. Moran and the Rangers had to clean up blood and bruises from injuries sustained in battle.

"Guys?" she heard a voice call and looked around. She saw a spot of blue sitting up on a rock. She knew it was Noah and made her way over to him. He wasn't in his Ranger uniform, which was good in case she would need help from Mrs. Goodall to take him home. Of course, it was always bad to find the Rangers after a battle when they were forced to power down. That seemed to be the case for Noah, who was soaking wet, covered in bruises, scratches, and cuts, and who had lost his glasses. He was feeling around the rock that held him up, hoping to find them.

"Noah?" she said and placed a hand on his back. Noah jumped slightly and turned to face her. Without his glasses, she was nothing more than a blurry face.

"Gia?"

"Mrs. Moran," she shook her head. She had a look around for his glasses, assuming he needed them, but she couldn't find them. "Just stay here, I'll help you get out. Take my arm."

Noah did as she told him and held tightly to Mrs. Moran's arm as she helped him off the rock and back to where Mrs. Goodall was waiting. She helped Noah the first way up the wall of debris and then warned Mrs. Goodall he was coming over.

"He's Noah," she explained and assumed Vanessa wouldn't know any of Emma's friends outside of Gia. "He's good friends with Gia and Emma. They must have found each other when the storm got really bad."

"They should have stayed inside," Mrs. Goodall muttered. She saw Noah coming over and reached out to help him down. Noah stumbled a bit, but Mrs. Goodall wouldn't let him fall.

"Stay close to him, Claire. We haven't found his glasses."

"I can't see without them," Noah explained. Mrs. Goodall nodded and kept one hand on his shoulder.

Mrs. Moran turned away from the wall and had another look around. Now that she knew she had the site of the battle she knew the Rangers were close. She walked around again, checking behind boulders, under the water, and up along the edge of what seemed to be a crater.

"Mom!"

Mrs. Moran heard her daughter's voice and turned around. She found Gia laying on her stomach on top of a rock. She was safe above the water and conscious. She looked cut up just like Noah, but she was alive. Mrs. Moran was grateful. However, she was holding on to Jake, who was floating in the water with his head barely breaking the surface. Gia was trying her best to hold him up with one arm. She couldn't use the other because it was broken, and the water had ruined the cast. Mrs. Moran made her way over as fast as she could to her daughter.

"I can't wake him up," Gia said when her mother was close. Mrs. Moran took Jake from her and lifted him out of the water. He was heavy, but she knew she had to get him to safety.

"Are you okay?"

Gia nodded her head. Mrs. Moran held Jake up and looked to her daughter.

"Stay here, I'll come back for you," she said.

Gia nodded again while Mrs. Moran took Jake over to Mrs. Goodall. She called out to her best friend and explained to her that Jake was unconscious and she needed help getting him over. Mrs. Goodall climbed to the top of the wall and together they got Jake up and over.

"What's wrong with him?" Noah asked as Jake's body was put beside him. He couldn't see very well so had no idea why Jake wasn't waking up. Mrs. Goodall knelt down and checked his pulse and then his breathing.

"He's alive."

"Are you sure?"

"He must have just hit his head," Mrs. Goodall assured him. "We'll get you checked out by the doctor once everyone's out. The important thing now is that you're safe."

Noah nodded his head and grabbed Jake's wrist. He couldn't see very well, but this way he could feel Jake's pulse and he would know his best friend was still alive.

Back on the other side, Mrs. Moran made her way over to Gia and tried to help her daughter off the rock. Gia refused her mother's help, though, and shook her head to make it clear she didn't want to be moved.

"Fine, I'll check the arm first…"

"It's fine," Gia said, "My suit protected it. Tensou can fix it later. Where's Emma?"

"Jake and Noah are safe," Mrs. Moran promised her daughter. "Once I get you to safety I'll find Troy and Emma…"

"Troy never showed," Gia said. "Where's Emma?"

"Troy never showed?" Mrs. Moran asked. Gia ignored her question for her own.

"Where's Emma?"

"I'll find her," Mrs. Moran promised, "Just let me get you…"

"I'm fine!" Gia screamed, "Where's Emma?"

Mrs. Moran looked her daughter in the eyes and saw panic. It was easily explained. She had just lost her father, fought for her life while a storm tore through the city, kept her unconscious boyfriend from drowning, and now her best friend was missing.

"I'll find her," Mrs. Moran promised and moved away from the rock to look around. There were a lot of places for the pink Ranger to hide, but Mrs. Moran was determined to find her.

"Vanessa!" she heard Mrs. Goodall calling for her, "Where are the girls?"

"I'm looking!" Mrs. Moran called back. "Gia won't move until I find Emma."

Mrs. Moran then got an idea. She looked over to where Gia was watching her on the rock, "Claire, you have to come in and get her. Her arm's broken, she can't get out herself."

Mrs. Goodall climbed the wall and jumped over. She landed in a couple of feet of water and sighed as she looked at her shoes and skirt, both of which were now ruined. She saw Gia over on a rock and made her way over.

"What about Emma?"

"I'm looking."

That had to be good enough for Mrs. Goodall, who finally made it over to Gia. She gently grabbed the yellow Ranger and helped her off the rock.

"Are you okay?"

"How's Jake?"

"He's alive. What about you, Gia…?"

"Not until they're okay," Gia shook her head. Mrs. Goodall sighed. It was never easy talking to Gia. She didn't say anything else until they were back at the wall.

"I'll help you up," Mrs. Goodall held Gia tightly as she propped her up for the first part of the climb. Gia only had one arm to work with to pull herself up but she managed to find a way to move. That is, until she grabbed a weak rock that crumbled as soon as she put some weight on it. She almost fell back but someone grabbed her arm.

"Gotcha!"

"Jake!"

"I have a hard head," he chuckled. He pulled Gia up and over and then hugged her tightly once they were both back on the ground.

"You were completely out," Gia said as she looked at him. "I couldn't wake you up!"

"I have a killer headache," Jake told her as he held her close, "But I'll be fine."

"He jumped up as soon as I told him you were still on the other side," Noah said as he rubbed his nose, "Thanks for this, by the way."

Jake looked down at his hand. He thought he had felt something smack him as he rose up.

"I hit you in the face, didn't I?"

"I'm just glad it wasn't your head," Noah said, "You could have knocked us both out again."

Jake chuckled and then felt Gia leap back into his arms and embrace him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her.

On the other side of the wall, once Gia was over, Mrs. Goodall turned around. She would never win the mother of the year award, and she was certain her daughter hated her and didn't want her around except to help Mrs. Moran, but that wasn't going to stop her from looking for her. She dredged through the water and looked everywhere for a sign of her daughter.

It was then she heard a splash. She turned around and followed the wall until she reached a pile of rocks. She heard the splash again.

"Emma?"

Another splash then a gargled cry, "Mom!"

It came from behind the rocks.

"Vanessa!" Mrs. Goodall shouted while she moved around the pile. She found Emma pinned up between the pile and the wall. The pile of rocks had fallen over her legs, keeping her down, while one boulder pressed her arm to the wall. She was squirming and it looked like she was trying to push herself free, but she couldn't. The water level was also just under her nose given her seated position, which furthered her panic. The first thing Mrs. Goodall did when she saw her daughter trapped was push away the boulder that pinned her arm. Emma pulled her arm free and then pushed herself up as high as she could and gasped for breath. Mrs. Goodall wrapped one arm around her daughter to hold her up while she pushed the rocks from the pile away, relieving some of their weight from Emma's legs. As soon as it was light enough and Emma could move her legs again, she kicks off the rest of the rocks and tried to stand. Mrs. Goodall helped her daughter up and held her in her arms.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Emma nodded her head.

"I don't think anything's broken," she said and Mrs. Goodall could tell her daughter was upset and still scared. She couldn't blame her. She had been trapped almost completely underwater. She pulled away from Emma and looked her over carefully.

"Those are going to be some nasty bruises," she said and touched Emma's arm. The pink Ranger winced and hissed loudly.

"OW! Don't!"

"Sorry. What about your legs, are you…"

"I'm standing, mom. They hurt, but…"

"They don't look broken, but they are…"

"Mom, stop it," Emma pushed her mother away and almost regretted it as her legs gave up. Fortunately, Mrs. Moran arrived in time to catch her.

"Emma! Are you okay?" Mrs. Moran held her. Emma wrapped her arms around the older woman and nodded her head.

"For the most part. Where are the others?"

"Safe," Mrs. Moran promised, "Here, I'll help you out, then we'll get you all checked out."

Emma leaned into Mrs. Moran as she was helped to and over the wall. Mrs. Goodall watched the two and followed. Once they were all over to the other side she saw Mrs. Moran looking to her.

"Their cuts all look pretty bad, and who knows what's in this water," Mrs. Moran said. "Once we get them home, can you run out to the pharmacy and get anything to you find to clean them up?"

Mrs. Goodall looked to her best friend and her daughter. Emma was leaning on Mrs. Moran. Mrs. Moran held her close and warmly, and was comforting her as much as she could. Though Mrs. Goodall's priority had been getting Emma to safety, she had hoped that rescuing her would bring her closer to her daughter. She hoped that Emma would see she did care for her, and that she was trying to be a good mother and an even better person. But Emma had pushed her away, even though it meant she risked falling back into the water. She pushed her away and was now taking comfort in Mrs. Moran's arms.

"Sure," Mrs. Goodall sighed. It was probably best she stay away from the house as much as she could. Mrs. Moran wouldn't need her support. She was too worried for the kids to even think about her husband. And Emma didn't want her around.

Mrs. Goodall knew it wouldn't be easy. She knew not to expect something right away, but she had hoped to see progress by now in her relationship with her daughter. She had hoped to have at least one meaningful conversation. One moment where everything between her and Emma felt… normal. Since her arrival, it seemed the relationship was only getting worse, which couldn't be possible because she hadn't done anything recently to hurt Emma – not that she was aware of.

Which only left one possible explanation. She had hurt her daughter a lot more than she thought possible when she abandoned her. It made her stomach turn as she thought about it, and she held her head low as she walked with the others back to the house.


	6. Calm After The Storm

Gia hissed and pulled her arm away.

"OW! Tensou!"

The little robot had just finished making her a new cast for her arm when she felt a pinch above her elbow. She glared at Tensou angrily.

"What the hell was that?"

"Don't lose your cast again…" Tensou replied meekly. Though he knew he deserved it for pinching her, he always hated when the Rangers raised their voices at him. He only ever did his best. "You're arm's healing, we wouldn't want to set it back, would we?"

"Sorry, Tensou," Gia said and thanked the robot for his work. Tensou nodded his head and then rolled around the room to examine the other Rangers. After the alien had been defeated, Tensou had been called over to look after his team, instead of them teleporting to the command center or going to the doctor's. Mrs. Moran wanted to be there to help out, and she was also certain that after the storm the hospital would be full of patients and there would be no one available to help the Rangers.

It was also the reason she had asked Mrs. Goodall to head to the pharmacy even though she had a first aid kit filled up with everything she would need and more, and Tensou also came with his own supply of medical equipment. However, Mrs. Goodall couldn't be allowed to seen Tensou rolling around, and she couldn't find out that the kids were the Power Rangers. Mrs. Moran needed her out of the house long enough so Tensou could work.

"It's just a sprain," Tensou assured Emma as he examined her ankle. "There's lot of nasty bruising, but nothing that won't heal on its own. Keep the ice on it."

"Thanks, Tensou," Emma said and put the ice pack down on her legs. After being trapped under and behind some rocks, she was sporting some very dark, very painful bruises on her legs and arms. With help from Mrs. Moran, she had been able to walk home and she was sure that nothing was broken, there was just a lot of pain. Fortunately, the rocks hadn't been too heavy. Her panic just got the better of her.

"As for you," Tensou rolled over to Jake, who gave him the most concern because he had been unconscious the longest, "You should rest. No physical activity for the next little while."

"Soccer…?"

"Out," Tensou said. "And I think Gosei would agree, no Rangering for the next few days. Not until we know what's going on inside that head of yours."

"I've got a hard head," Jake smirked, "Tensou, I'll be fine."

Tensou raised himself so he was at eye level with Jake and then flashed a bright light. Jake blinked and recoiled painfully.

"Ow! Tensou!"

"Sorry…" Tensou lowered, almost in a slump, "You're best staying off your feet – in bed or on a couch – with someone looking over you."

Just as Jake felt comfortable opening his eyes, he heard a loud banging sound and a curse coming from Noah. He put his hands to his ears and shrank further into the couch.

"Can't everyone just shut up?"

"Sorry," Noah whispered and backed away from the table, "But I can't see where I'm going! I'm blind, remember."

"Here," Tensou rolled over to Noah and pulled a pair of goggles from his chest, "I made these just in case something happened to your glasses in battle."

Noah took the goggles and put them on his head. He looked around the room and saw his teammates were all trying to hold back their laughs. Noah went to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror.

"Aw, man!" he cried as he walked back to the living room, "I look like a dork!"

"And coming from you, that's saying something," Jake laughed. Noah shot him a look and he shrugged, "Sorry, dude, but you know…"

Noah sighed.

Tensou slumped down a little more, "Sorry, Noah. I'll come up with something better, I promise."

Tensou then looked around the room. There was nothing more he could do. He had analyzed the Rangers, fixed up any serious injuries, and had given them all the advice he had. All he could do now was hope they listened to him and hope they felt better soon.

"Thank you, Tensou," Mrs. Moran said and put a hand on his head, "You were a big help."

Tensou straightened up a little bit as he looked up at Mrs. Moran.

"Hey, Noah," Jake called to his best friend for another tease, "You get x-ray vision with those glasses?"

"Shut up!" Noah frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Stupid goggles."

"Guys, c'mon," Mrs. Moran shook her head and looked to the Rangers with disappointment, especially Noah and Jake. She focused her attention on Noah, "You should be grateful Tensou thought ahead and made you a pair of goggles. If he hadn't been so kind, you'd still be bumping into furniture."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Noah said. He looked down at Tensou, "Thanks for the goggles. They're a big help."

Tensou straightened himself up a little more. Mrs. Moran looked to Jake.

"And I'm sure Tensou worked hard on those goggles."

"Yeah. Hey, sorry, Tensou."

Tensou nodded his head to accept the apology and then looked up at Mrs. Moran. She smiled at him, placed a gentle hand on his head, and looked to the Rangers.

"He did a good job coming here and helping you all out. So maybe a…"

"Thanks, Tensou," the team said all at once, but Tensou didn't hear. He kept staring up at Mrs. Moran with a seemingly happy demeanour. It was hard to tell because he was a robot and didn't have much of a face. Emma leaned over and whispered to Gia.

"Why is he staring?"

"Malfunction?" Gia whispered back. "Uh, Tensou, thanks again for the help, but you should probably get going. You know, before Mrs. Goodall gets back and sees you. Tensou? Tensou!"

"What?" Tensou turned to Gia and shook his head gently.

"Maybe it's time you left, before Emma's mom comes back."

"Oh… yes," Tensou nodded. He pressed a few buttons on his chest and suddenly disappeared as he teleported back to the command center. It was just in time, too, as the door to the house opened suddenly.

"Gia?"

Gia's eyes widened. In all the drama she had forgotten about Serena. Right before the monster attack, Serena had been training out in the park. It wouldn't have been the first time Serena had been caught in the middle of danger, but Gia did panic for a moment until she saw the white Ranger running into the room.

When Serena walked in, she saw the Rangers and Mrs. Moran and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're all here?" she asked.

"Not Troy," Emma sighed and shook her head. Jake scoffed.

"He never showed."

"Jake, I'm sure he's got a good reason," Noah said. Jake shook his head.

"A good reason? Alright, I'll give him a little credit, when it comes to aliens, Vrak's been sending a bunch of weak ones lately…"

"Clones excepted," Gia pointed out.

Jake nodded and then turned back to Noah, "Yeah, but still, even when he sends out weak aliens, they're weak with a lot of power. They're still dangerous. It would have been nice to have a bit of a helping hand getting past all those monster's weather attacks. Maybe, with Troy around, we wouldn't have had to call that retreat and the city wouldn't have been in ruins!"

"Jake, calm down," Emma said. "It's not like Troy to miss training, never mind a battle. Something could have happened."

"He could be hurt," Noah added. "That storm was pretty nasty. Maybe he was on his way."

Jake didn't have time to argue. He and the others heard a knock on the door. Mrs. Moran went to open it, wondering who it could be. She smiled to see Troy. He looked tired, and wet from walking through the streets, but he seemed okay. She invited him inside and to the living room.

"You're all okay?" Troy asked when he saw his teammates sitting on couches and chairs. They were sporting a few injuries, but they were all awake and seemed to be fine. Once the storm had cleared and he and Rebecca had explained what happened to his parents, he had gone all over town looking for his friends. Communication between them had been cut off so Troy had a hard time of it. He looked around the city before teleporting directly to the command center. He arrived shortly after Tensou, who pointed him to Gia's house.

"No thanks to you," Jake muttered. He put his bag of ice on his head.

Troy looked apologetically to each of his friends, "You guys, I'm so sorry. I would have been there, I swear, but…"

"But what? Did Vrak himself appear and challenge you to a duel?"

"Jake, let him explain," Gia reached out and slapped him on the shoulder. Jake groaned and slumped in his seat.

"My parents just left the house when Rebecca's water broke," Troy said and he saw the shocked looks on all the Rangers' faces. He continued with the story. "I had to get Ryan to the neighbours, and call my parents, but before I could do any of that the storm hit and I got the call about the alien."

"What's your point?" Jake asked.

"Rebecca was all alone and terrified," Troy said. "I had to get her to the hospital. I couldn't leave her by herself. The phones were dead, so I had no way of calling my parents. I wanted to be with you guys, I really did, but it was just bad timing."

"Rebecca would have been fine," Jake scoffed. He was slapped again on the shoulder by Gia, who gave him a pointed look. He looked around the room and saw Emma and Mrs. Moran were also glaring at him.

"Why don't you try shoving a baby out of your crotch?" Mrs. Moran frowned. She turned to Troy with a sympathetic smile, "I'm sure it was a difficult decision, and I think this is one time where Ranger duties came second."

"We could have died," Jake said. Gia smacked his again, "OW! Stop it! That hurts!"

"My point," Gia said. She looked to Troy, "We really needed you on the battle field, but I think I agree with mom, you made the right decision."

"I wanted to be there," Troy repeated, "but Rebecca was all alone and she was terrified. I couldn't leave her, and even if I did, what would I have told her?"

"How is the baby?" Emma asked.

"Healthy, fortunately," Troy said. "And I don't think Rebecca's going to be having another one anytime soon."

"Why do you think I stopped after Gia," Mrs. Moran chuckled.

"We're waiting for the phone services to come back on," Troy said. "Once they do, the baby will be leaving with Mia and Kevin."

"Mia and Kevin?" Serena asked. "Wait, Rebecca… are we talking about…?"

"Rebecca Daniels," Troy nodded. "Mia and Kevin are adopting her baby."

"My Mia and Kevin?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I knew they were adopting," Serena said, "And I knew they were expecting him any day now, but they never mentioned that. How do you know my nephew?"

"He's my nephew too."

Serena nodded her head as she let that sink in. Then she pulled out her Samuraizer.

"Fortunately, I've got this," she said with a smile, "Full service."

"You can call…"

"Only between Samuraizers," Serena interrupted Gia, who looked mad at her for not calling sooner. "I can only reach the other Samurai. Mia and Kevin are going to be thrilled to hear this."

As Serena left the room to try and get in touch with her two teammates, Troy turned back to his own. He sighed loudly.

"Look, you guys, I am really sorry. I know I let you down. As leader, I should have…"

"Gia did a good job in your place," Noah said and casually shrugged his shoulders. "It got a little rough for a while, but we made it all out alive. It could have been worse."

"That shouldn't be an option. Look, I don't regret helping Rebecca; I do regret having to choose her over you. I'm sorry for that."

"Apology accepted," Gia, Emma, and Noah smiled. Gia gave Jake a little nudge.

"Yeah, dude, apology accepted. I guess it all worked out for the best anyway. No harm done."

"Thanks, that really means a lot," Troy said. "Now, uh… can I ask you something?"

"What?"

Troy walked over to Jake and leaned over the back of his seat. He whispered, "What's with Noah's… face?"

"I lost my glasses after the fight," Noah cried as he overheard the boys. "I can't see without them… oh, shut up, all of you."


	7. Epilogue

_**Author's Note: Short chapter, but I just wanted to wrap things up with the baby. More to come after this!**_

Serena led the way through the hospital up to the nursery. Mia and Kevin were behind her, very eager to meet their son for the first time. It had surprised them greatly when they heard he had been born during the storm, and they worried he hadn't gotten the care he needed because the streets in Harwood had been flooded. They had seen the damage for themselves because they had rented a hotel room in the city for easy access when Rebecca did go into labour. They had every intention of being there for the birth of their son. Fate thought otherwise.

Serena was also in town. She had gotten a call from Emma telling her Mr. Moran had died and someone needed to be with Gia. Serena had dropped everything to be there for the current yellow Ranger, and to her surprise that led her to finding out about the baby's birth before Mia and Kevin could, thanks to her Samuraizer getting through before the phone service could be repaired.

She opened the door to the nursery and Kevin and Mia rushed ahead to talk to the nurse and ask about their son. The nurse pointed to a bassinet and the three Samurai saw a girl sitting beside their baby. Serena frowned but Kevin and Mia walked over. Mia put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Rebecca?"

"Oh, hey," Rebecca looked up and recognized Kevin and Mia from the interview. Though she planned on giving up all rights to her child, she wouldn't be doing so without a say in his future. She had been allowed to choose who she wanted to raise her child and she was happy with her decision. Kevin and Mia seemed like good people and they had Troy's stamp of approval. She stood up, "Sorry, I was just…"

"It's okay," Kevin said. He then looked down at the baby, "Is that him?"

"Yeah," Rebecca moved out of the way so the parents could see. She congratulated them, told them to take good care of the baby, and then started to leave. Serena, who stayed by the door, saw the tears in her eyes. This was the hardest part of an adoption process and her heart went out to the young girl.

"He's in a good family," she whispered. Rebecca looked up.

"You're with them?"

"Mia's like a sister to me," Serena nodded.

"I guess that makes you his aunt," Rebecca said. She looked over her shoulder and sighed as she watched the happy parents hold their son for the first time. It was bittersweet for her. Her son would have a good life, and she knew she would move on to better things, but she would miss him terribly.

"I'm a mother, too," Serena said. "I've got two kids of my own…"

"So I guess you'll be around to give advice…"

"They won't need much of it," Serena shrugged her shoulders. "What I mean is I'd trust them with my kids. He's going to have a happy life."

"I don't doubt that. It's just… hard."

"I know," Serena said and opened her arms to the teenager. Rebecca didn't know what compelled her to hug a stranger, but she needed one desperately. She never wanted to be a mother, not at this age, but giving up her baby was still painfully hard.

"Good luck, kid," Serena smiled when Rebecca moved away. Rebecca offered her a small smile of gratitude before hurrying from the room. Serena watched her go with a heavy heart before heading over to see Mia and Kevin.

"Serena, look!" Mia cradled the little boy in her arms as she looked down at him with nothing but bliss, "He's so precious!"

"Are we calling him he all the time?" Serena asked as she gently stroked the baby's cheek and smiled.

"Jesse," Kevin told her. "Jesse Simon."

"Cute," Serena said. Kevin and Mia barely heard her, as they were too busy showering their new son with affection. Serena had to snap them back to reality, "Why don't we talk to the nurses about letting him go home with you guys?"

"Are you coming back?" Mia asked, "Or are you staying in Harwood a little longer for Gia?"

"I don't think she needs me much anymore. The family's doing better," Serena said. "We'll make a stop on the way home so I can say goodbye and then show off little Jesse to the rest of the whack-pack."

"I'll find a doctor," Kevin said as he walked ahead. Mia cuddled her little boy in her arms. Serena chuckled.

"Just like you dreamed?"

"Exactly," Mia nodded her head. "Once we get him home and we're with Riley, it'll be better."

"Better? Better than your lifelong dream of marrying prince charming, having the perfect house with the white picket fence, and the two kids?"

"Better," Mia nodded. "I have the most amazing husband, a beautiful house, and two perfect kids."

"You just got that one," Serena chuckled, "How do you know he's perfect?"

"Baby face," Mia smirked and pointed to her son's little face. Serena conceded.

"Yeah, baby face. Let's go show him off."


End file.
